The Ecuador Team Has Been Having Some Fun!

We are now beginning our third week on the field; woah! It feels like we’ve been here for no time at all, yet a lot of work has been accomplished and many friendships have deepened.

Since Thursday, the team has finished the first coat on the roof, but some spots need to be touched up now. The plumbing and the digging has also come to an end just in time for our camping trip. Today they worked on painting wooden poles for Jacob’s ladder.

On Friday night, we celebrated our 4th of July. We had hotdogs, potato salad, ceasar salad, corn on the cob, and a celebration cake for our kids who had birthdays on the field; Ellie, Hannah M. Kearen, and Zuzu. Saturday we left around 6 in the morning and headed to Banyos. There we went on the “swing at the edge of the world,” which is a swing that goes over a cliff. Thankfully it was foggy so they couldn’t actually see how far of a drop was below them (and they were strapped in). Afterwards we went biking down the mountain, which was such a thrill for our kids. \Even though it rained for half of it, the team seemed to really enjoy it. After bike riding, the kids went canyoning. They wore wetsuits and were strapped up to a harness and went scaling down waterfalls. We were supposed to go ziplining and bungee jumping afterwards, but we ran out of time, plus we were worried about the kids getting sick from being wet and cold all day. So we headed to dinner and were able to try Pizza Konos, a pizza in a dough cone. Afterwards, some went shopping and others went to the spa for some relaxation.

Sunday was truly a day of rest after the previous exhausting day. The team spent time working on verses and some went for a walk to the waterfall.

We didn’t go to a church since it’s hard to get to one without a truck or bus. Instead we did a small service here where everyone was able to share a testimony of what the Lord is doing in their life.

Today, the team did laundry and prepared for our hiking trip. The trip wasn’t even officially approved until today! But we are praying and believing that the Lord will give us a safe (and hopefully somewhat warm) trip. Some of our team members had to buy winter coats in preparation. Today we also spent quite a bit of time buying food for the week. A special thanks to Riley, Eden, Ethan, and Tim for helping me carry my bags!

We will not be in communication from Tomorrow until Saturday afternoon so don’t expect a report until then, unless there is an emergency.

Thank you so much for the informative update! So glad to hear you all had some fun time and a nice 4th of July dinner! Looking forward to how the Lord will continue to work in and through hearts through the next week hiking! We continue to pray for you all!!!